Orlando’s only independently operated abortion clinic, the Center of Orlando for Women, has launched an online fundraiser through GoFundMe to help ensure the clinic is able to remain operational. The goal, according to the page, is to raise $500,000 to cover operational expenses, such as rent and equipment, as well as patient support services, legal and administrative costs, and salaries for clinic staff.
The Center of Orlando for Women is a privately owned abortion clinic just south of downtown. It is one of just two remaining abortion clinics in Orlando, along with a Planned Parenthood health center.
As of May 1, abortion providers in Florida are restricted from providing abortion procedures to people who are more than six weeks pregnant, with few exceptions, creating an increasingly precarious situation for clinics like the Center of Orlando for Women that offer few other dedicated services.
“Since the Supreme Court’s cruel reversal of Roe v. Wade in 2022, Florida has been a safe haven for abortion seekers in ban states,” reads a GoFundMe page, set up by the clinic’s financial officer, Denise Williams. “This essential facility is at risk of forced closure due to the recent 6-week abortion ban approved by the Florida Supreme Court, which went into effect on May 1, 2024.”
Williams did not respond to a request for comment from Orlando Weekly — nor did another staff member we reached out to — but the Orlando Sentinel reported on Friday that they were able to confirm Williams is the fundraiser's organizer.
According to the Washington Post, abortion clinics along the East Coast of the U.S. with less restrictive laws saw a surge in patient traffic following the implementation of Florida’s six-week abortion ban on May 1. Prior to that, abortion had been legal up to 15 weeks of pregnancy, as a result of a law (House Bill 5) approved by Florida’s Republican-dominated state Legislature in 2022. Before that, abortion was legal during the first and second trimesters, or up to roughly 26 weeks.
The Center of Orlando for Women, formerly known as the Orlando Women’s Center, has been in operation for more than 25 years. It was founded by Dr. James Pendergraft, a Black doctor raised in North Carolina who, back in 1998, described abortion to Orlando Weekly as “a right for women.”
The clinic has a history of being targeted by anti-abortion groups like Operation Rescue, and today, is still visited by anti-abortion activists nearly every day who bring bullhorns, gruesome posters and promotional literature for local anti-abortion pregnancy centers like Choices Women’s Clinic. Some bring cameras and film patients. Thanks to a Catholic internal medicine doctor next door, and a sidewalk his property shares with Center of Orlando for Women, anti-abortion activists also have closer access to patients than they would if the doctor did not give them permission to be there.
Orlando used to be home to a couple more abortion clinics, but those have shuttered over the years, while a few others remain operational in surrounding areas. Altogether, there are about 50 licensed abortion clinics throughout the state of Florida, but — if Florida’s six-week ban remains in effect — the state could see the closure of more clinics.
According to The Guardian, about two dozen independent abortion clinics closed in 2023 alone, following the closure of 42 the year before, leaving a dozen states in the American Midwest and southern region of the country without a single brick-and-mortar clinic. A report from the Abortion Care Network emphasizes that independent clinics in the U.S. provide the majority of abortion care, alongside Planned Parenthood centers, and smaller percentages of hospitals and physician’s offices.
The Center of Orlando for Women similarly faced a threat of closure last year, after the state fined it nearly $200,000 for violations of a state law concerning a 24-hour waiting period for abortion procedures that had been held up in the courts for years before going into effect in 2022. Stand With Abortion Now, a TikTok-famous group of volunteer clinic escorts, managed to raise the funds to cover that fine through a GiveButter donation campaign online.
But the abortion care landscape could soon change in Florida, at least within the next year. A proposed amendment to the state’s constitution that will be on the statewide ballot this November (Amendment 4) would extend Florida’s abortion limit to roughly 24 weeks of pregnancy, if approved by at least 60 percent of Florida voters.
A summary for the ballot measure reads in part that, “No law shall prohibit, penalize, delay, or restrict abortion before viability or when necessary to protect the patient's health, as determined by the patient's healthcare provider.” The initiative in support of expanding abortion rights is spearheaded by Floridians Protecting Freedom, a statewide alliance of organizations that support the right to an abortion and the freedom of Floridians to make personal medical decisions, free of governmental intrusion.
Williams, the Orlando abortion clinic’s financial officer, shared on the GoFundMe page for the Center of Orlando for Women that their fundraiser is meant to help keep the clinic in operation at least through the effective date of that constitutional amendment. If approved by voters, the amendment would be effective January 1, 2025.
So far, the GoFundMe page has raised $5,555 from 57 donations, as of publication, with a fundraising goal of $500,000.
Meanwhile, organizations that provide financial assistance to those who lack the resources to pay for an abortion or associated travel expenses are similarly working to raise funds to help pregnant people access abortion out of state. Such groups, like the Florida Access Network and Tampa Bay Abortion Fund, say they have struggled to keep up with the demand for help, amid donor burnout and other logistical and financial barriers.
The committee spearheading the 2024 ballot initiative to enshrine stronger abortion rights into the state constitution has raised nearly $20 million since April 1, when the Florida Supreme Court ruled the measure should be officially placed on the ballot.
Abortion resources for Floridians
For legal questions about abortion access, or questions regarding Florida’s abortion laws, visit reprolegalhelpline.org.
You can find information on PlanCPills.org for how to access abortion medication.
You can find a state portal with real, licensed abortion clinics in Florida here.
For financial assistance and logistical help, organizations like the National Network of Abortion Funds, the Florida Access Network and Tampa Bay Abortion Fund have resources to help people with few resources pay for abortion services and travel out of state, as needed, to safely and legally terminate their pregnancy.
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